"You know about the intrinsics of the Sports Festival right?" Toshinori asked. "Of course!" Izuku replied. "The business, general, support and hero courses come together and fight through preliminary games of different types, based on class year, and then those on the top face off in the finals. It's basically a round-robin based upon grade."
"Correct!" Yagi shouted. "That means that you have to sell yourself to the public with everything you've got!" He exclaimed. "R-right." Izuku muttered. And then Toshi coughed up blood and toppled over, bringing the couch he was sitting on with him, shocking Izuku so much that spines grew out of his back, just like when he fought against the slime villain. "I-I mean you're correct!" 'But it's honestly kind of hard to get completely into it right after what happened. All Might is already teaching me, so I'm not as motivated to stand out at the sports festival. In the first place, my 'standing out' involves my tendrils popping out, which might send most of my class into a fit of fear. Also according to All Might I instinctively recognized my classmates as allies and not prey, but that probably will not be the case with the other students.'
"You are the best at speaking nonsense!" Toshinori screamed, spitting blood again. "N-nonsense? And you heard all that?!" Izuku asked in shock. "There are those who are aiming for the top, and those who aren't. This little difference in attitudes is key once you go into the outside world." 'That muttering is giving me flashbacks to my fight with All For One! Why is this happening?!' he thought. "I understand how you feel, and I admit this is more for my benefit then yours, but don't forget that feeling you felt at the beach." he said, dismissing Izuku. As Izuku turned to leave, Toshinori noticed something. "Err, Izuku? Your Quirk is acting up. You have rippling spines growing out of your back." Izuku turned his head as far as he could, and his eyes wided. "Oh n-no! M-my uniform!" he stammered. "I'll get you a new one. However, you can use that as a flashy technique. Also it adds a bit of protection." Izuku nodded and left.
After classes, the students of class 1-A found themselves trapped by a massive hoard of students from other classes. "W-what is this?" Ururaka stammered, "What business do you have with Class A?" Iida asked. "We can't get out! What'd you come here for anyway!?" Mineta screeched. "They're scouting the competition, small fry." Bakugou snarled. "We survived a villian attack and one of us even took ten of them to an early grave. They wanna check us out before the Sports Festival." Mineta was shaking while pointing at Katsuki. "That's Kacchan in neutral." Izuku explained. Bakugou had now reached the front of the throng of students blocking the door.
"There's no point of doing this kind of crap." Bakugou stated to them. "Get the fuck out of my way!" He snarled. "I came to see what class A was like, and it seems like you're disappointingly arrogant. Are all students in the Hero Course like this?" A purple-haired teen with tired eyes asked. Izuku, Iida, and Uraraka shook their heads violently. Bakugou looked personally insulted. "This is making me disillusioned." he looked down while rubbing his head. Then he looked up. "Several of us from the general course and the other courses couldn't get into the hero course. Did you know that?" He asked. Bakugou growled. "The school has given us another chance. You see, depending on the results of the Sports Festival, we may be transferred to the hero course. Of course, the opposite could happen to you." That last bit made Izuku, Iida, and Uraraka gulp. "You think we're all scouting the enemy? I, at least, came to say that it doesn't matter if in you're in the hero course, I'll sweep your feet out from under you if you get too carried away. I came with a declaration of war."
'This person is really bold!' Iida, Uraraka, and Izuku thought simultaneously. As Bakugou and the tired-eyed kid glared at each other, another voice rang out. "Hey hey hey! I'm from class B next door!" a silver-haired teen shouted. "I heard you guys fought villains so I came to hear about it! Don't get to full of yourself!" 'Another bold person!' Izuku, Iida, and Uraraka thought. "If you bark too much, it'll be an embarrassment for you guys during the real fight!" Bakugou ignored the kid. "HEY! Are you ignoring me?!" he shouted. Kirishima then opened his mouth. "Hey Bakugou! What are you gonna do about this!?" he questioned. "It's your fault everyone's hating on us!"
"It doesn't matter if you rise to the top!" the explosive blond growled before walking off. "You bastard!" The silver-haired B student shouted. Meanwhile, class 1-A had a minor argument about it. Kirishima had thought it was 'manly'. The rest of the class disliked how the rest of the school were now probably their enemies. Izuku, however, was thinking about what everyone had said about the sports festival, ending with All Might asking him to remember how he felt on the beach.
Izuku worked hard for the next two weeks, using Dagoba Beach as a training ground. He used Blacklight to increase his speed while using One For All on his toes to propel himself forward. Blacklight healed his fingers and toes much faster now. It only took one minute for each digit. He discovered that when he sprinted he could treat vertical surfaces like horizontal ones, just like Recovery Girl had said. That had given his mother a fright when she saw him running up and down the apartment. He knew that his fellow students were also training. However, he was only 95% right. Mineta was only practicing his speech for 'when' he got first place.
Soon the morning of the Sports Festival arrived. "Izuku… please be careful and try not to get hurt." Inko asked her son. Hisashi, who was on speaker, decided to chime in. "Do your best son!" he encouraged, his voice full of warmth. "I'll record it, OK? It'll be in high resolution!" Inko stated. Izuku nodded. "Do your best!" she finished. "OK!" he responded. "I'll be watching you, my boy! I'm so proud of you!" his father shouted. "OK! I love you both! Bye!" Izuku then ran off to catch the train.
At the base for the League of Villains, All For One had specifically instructed his minions to A: Not attack the Sports Festival, and B: Not to interrupt him as he decided to watch it, so as to 'scout out the future problems' on pain of death after he took their Quirk. That was his excuse, anyway. He'd be damned if he didn't watch his son. He knew both him and his honorary nephew were competing, and he hoped that Katsuki hadn't reverted to the state he was before he had that little… talk with him.
At the entrance, the crowds were getting restless. "Why is this taking so long?!" growled a female reporter. Her cameraman decided to speak up. "Well, they were attacked, so of course they'd beef up security. Also, there are people criticizing the choice to even hold it this year." At that, the camerawoman's eyes became yen signs. "Controversy equals ratings!" she gleamed.
Just inside the gate were several small shops selling food and merchandise. Most of the people had to choose where to go. The 3rd year stage was usually the most watched, but this time the 1st years were very close to upstaging them!
Meanwhile, 1-A was getting ready to compete. "Aww man, I wanted to wear my costume!" Mina complained. "We can't. It's in the interest of fairness." Ojiro responded. "I wonder what the first round will be this year?" Sato asked aloud. "No matter what it is, we're going to have to deal with it." Fumikage stated with certainty. "Right." Shoji responded. And then Iida opened the door.
"Everyone, are you ready?!" he shouted. "We will be entering soon!" "Midoriya." Todoroki said. Izuku turned around. "Todoroki? What is it?" "Looking at things objectively, I think I'm stronger than you." At this, Bakugou started laughing aloud. "Dream on Icy Hot! You're pathetic compared to Deku! We all are!" Todoroki turned. "What makes you say that?"
"You remember USJ right?" Bakugou asked. "Of course." Todoroki replied. "You really think you'd live if Deku decided to kill you?!"
"Indeed. However, back to the topic. All Might has his eye on you, right Midoriya?" Izuku gasped. "I'm not trying to pry about that. But I'm going to beat you." he stated emotionlessly. "Oh ho? What's this? Is the best in the class making a declaration of war?" Kaminari asked, trying to fight down the mental image of Izuku ripping Todoroki to literal shreds. Kirishima put his hand on Todoroki shoulder. "Hey hey hey! Why are you trying to pick a fight!? You DO know who you're talking to right?!" he CLEARLY remembered what happened to those Izuku decided were his enemy. "We shouldn't make enemies of each other just before the start!"
"We're not here to make friends." Todoroki retorted, pushing Kirishima's hand off of his shoulder. "So what does it matter?" he asked, walking off. Izuku decided to speak up. "Todoroki, I don't know what you're talking about when you say you'll beat me, and of course you're better than me. After all, your Quirk doesn't depend on murder. I think you're more capable than most people, looking at it objectively…"
"M-Midoriya, you shouldn't look at this so negatively. I mean, l-look at your Quirk!" Kirishima started nervously. "But everyone… the students from the other courses are aiming for the top with everything they've got! I can't afford to fall behind, so I'll be going for it with everything I've got as well!"
"Yeah." Todoroki casually said. Bakugou tsked. "If Deku went all out you'd be lucky to live." he grumbled.
Out in the stadium, Present Mic turned on the screens. "HEY!" he shouted. He got roaring applause from the audience. "Pay attention, audience! Swarm, mass media! This year's High School rodeo of adolescence you all know and love, the UA Sports Festival, is about to begin! Are you ready?! It's time for the students to enter the first year stage!" And with that, Class 1-A walked out. "The UA Sports Festival! The huge battle where fledgling heroes yearly sharpen their swords! Aaaaannnnnnnnndddd here they are! These students managed to survive a literal villain attack! They are… HERO CLASS 1-A!" The audience roared. By now, Izuku was beginning to panic. "T-t-there are so many people…" he said to himself. He also felt the familiar hunger rising up. Apparently ten wasn't enough for his appetite. Then again, it had been two weeks. "Will we be able to give our best performance when we're being watched by so many?" Iida asked aloud. "Is this also essential hero training? Iida asked as a follow-up question"
"Hey, are you nervous Bakugou?" Kirishima asked. "Heh, this is just getting me more into it!" he growled. "This class has not been given much airtime, but they also have talent! They are hero class 1-B! Next up are the general studies of classes C, D, and E! The support classes of F, G, and H are also here! And finally, the business classes of I, J, and K! All of UA's First Years are here now!" By now, the students were all in one huge group, with Midnight, in her… unorthodox uniform, complete with a cat-o-nine tails.
"All right, time for the player pledge!" she shouted. The crowd cheered for obvious reasons. "W-what is Ms. Midnight wearing?!" Kirishima declared. "W-well that's an R-rated hero for you." Kaminari stuttered "Is it even OK that such a hero would be at a High School?" Fumikage asked. "YES!" Mineta screeched. "Quiet everyone! Representing Class 1-A is Katsuki Bakugou!" All of 1-A paled. 'This is gonna suck' was the common theme.
Said explosive blond, however, just calmly walked forward. Class 1-A waited for him to do his usual 'You can all eat my dust' type of thing, but instead he just stood there for a moment. "Well, this is an unexpected surprise." he calmly stated. "I wasn't aware that I'd have a speech to give. So, let's keep this short. I wanna see what everybody's got!" He was yelling now. "Give it your all!" cheers went up from the students. "Some of us have Quirks that are flashy, some of have subtle Quirks and some of us have Quirks that are downright terrifying. However! Here, we should remember that we're all training to become part of the Hero industry! Good luck!" and with that he walked off the podium. "Wow Kacchan, I wasn't expecting that!" Izuku said. "Well, I figured saying 'you all can kiss my ass' wouldn't be a good way to start." "You mean like how you told Midoriya not to eat ass?" Tsuyu calmly asked. The class chuckled. "SSSHHHHUUUUUTTTTT IIITTT!" Katsuki screeched in rage. Midnight cleared her throat. "Now then, let's get started right away!"
"UA does everything 'right away' doesn't it?" Uraraka asked Tsuyu. Meanwhile Midnight kept talking.
"The first round is what you'd consider a Qualifier! Every year, many students drink their tears due to this first round! This year it's…" a roulette wheel spun. "An obstacle race!" she declared after it stopped. "All 11 classes will participate! The length of the race is the outer circumference of the stadium, which is about four kilometers! Our school's selling point is freedom. It doesn't matter what you do… as long as you stay on the course~. Now then, take your places everybody!"
Izuku wasn't in the front, but he noticed that the first part was pretty narrow. 'I'll have to ge vertically' he thought to himself. "START!" Midnight shouted as the lights went off. The horde of students rushed forward. "OK, here's the Play-By-Play! Are you ready to do the commentary Eraserhead?!" Mic asked. "Why am I here?" Aizawa groaned. "Let's get started right away!" Mic said, ignoring his fellow staff member. "This part that the students are facing…"
Meanwhile, the students were tightly packed together. Izuku, however, jumped onto the side of the wall and sprinted. "And Midoriya is… running on the wall?! Since when could he do that?!" Mic shouted. "He's full of surprises." Aizawa deadpanned. And then Todoroki decided to weed out the competition by freezing as many people as he could to the ground. Of course, several students managed to avoid that. 'More people outside of Class A managed to avoid that then I thought…' the ice user thought to himself. And then he saw Mineta using his sticky balls to bounce across. "I've outwitted you Todoroki! How pathetic!" he screeched. "Take thi-" and then he was swatted by a robot and was sent flying. He tumbled around.
"These robots were set to target the students! How will they avoid them!?" Mic shouted. Izuku nearly froze when one of the robots swung its face towards him… but it passed him over. 'W-what?!' he mentally screamed. "And the challengers have been stopped by the first obstacle! The robo inferno! How will they get past them?!" Mic shouted. "Oh would you look at that. They're not targeting Midoriya." Aizawa flatly stated. "Good gracious you're right! How is that possible?!" Mic shouted.
"Since my bastard of a father is watching…" Todoroki muttered. He then effortlessly froze an entire zero-pointer solid! "We can go through the legs!" one random student shouted. "I wouldn't. They're beginning to topple." Todoroki stated. And sure enough, they were. "And using an offensive and defensive move at once, Todoroki managed to be the second one through! Now, how do you think Midoriya got through?!" Mic asked Aizawa. "No comment." he replied. He knew that the robots were programmed to go after humans in a specific area. 'Perhaps they're not registering Izuku as human?' he thought to himself. He then texted Recovery Girl. 'Make sure to check Midoriya's DNA.' he typed, before hitting the send button.
At the base, All For One was cheering his son on. "YEAH! That's my boy!" he shouted, his sound obscured by the Quirk that made every sound he made dissipate in such a way that only he could hear it. In Izuku's apartment, Inko was crying with joy. "IZUKU!" she shouted, crying a stream of tears.
"W-Wait! Someone's trapped under there! They'll die!" a random student shouted. "Are people gonna die here!?" another shouted. This was when Kirishima propelled himself through the ice. "The hell I'll die here!" he growled. "Kirishima from 1-A was underneath! That's crazy!" Mic shouted. "Todoroki, you bastard! You timed it so I'd be under it when they fell!" he snarled. "If it wasn't me, someone could've died!"
"That class A really IS filled with bastards!" a Class B student growled, pulling himself up with a similar Quirk. "And Tetsutetsu pulls himself up from underneath as well!" Mic shouted. "If it hadn't been me someone could've died!" he said, unknowingly repeating what Kashima said. "Our Quirks are practically the same! How can I stand out now!?" Kashima shouted, a thin trail of tears following him. "Why you little…" Tetsutetsu growled. "Man those guys are lucky" Kaminari grumbled. "They can get ahead without the fear of getting crushed!" The other students began to get past the robots, one after the other.
"As expected, the group in the lead is mostly composed of Class 1-A." Snipe mentioned. "Class B and the other courses aren't doing so bad either!" Toshinori stated. "Class 1-A doesn't spend that much time standing around." Aizawa mentioned to Mic. "Those who experienced firsthand the world above them at USJ… those who had fear planted in their hearts… those who dealt with it and pulled through… they're using their experience to drown out their hesitation." he finished.
Meanwhile, Izuku was weaving around the robots, with Todoroki close behind him. 'I can't rely on One For All right now.' he thought. He then saw a bunch of the robots he passed go down due to explosion. 'Kacchan?' he thought, only for the smoke to clear, revealing that Momo had created an artillery cannon. 'She defeated the Zero-Pointers with no trouble! No wonder she got in on recommendations.' he thought to himself.
"The Zero pointers here are enemies to defeat, not to avoid here. Therefore, the students are beginning to see openings." Snipe said.
"My oh my! Look at all of those getting through the first obstacle! But what about the second?!" Mic shouted. "If you fall you're out! If you wanna cross, you'll have to crawl. It's… the Fall!" he finished. Izuku noticed this, and coiled Biomass into his legs. He quickly discovered that his jumps easily cleared the gaps. He didn't see what the others did, though.
"A lot of people are working hard for their chance, aren't they Eraser Head?" Mic shouted. "What are you idiots stopping for!?" Eraserhead growled, as most of the students weren't moving. Todoroki just used his ice to slide over, managing to inch past Midoriya. "And Todoroki takes the lead!" Mic shouted. In the stands, the fans were conversing. "Wow, he's making it look easy! And look at that Quirk! It's so powerful!" one said. "That's to be expected! He's Endeavor's son! The blood of the second best hero flows through his veins!"
"They'll be fighting over who gets him as a sidekick!" another shouted. Back at home, Inko was cheering for her son. "Izuku…" she muttered. At the Base, All For One was watching intently. "Come on Izuku, don't let him win!" he muttered, fighting down the urge to vomit at the thought of Endeavor spawning.
"And now we're getting to the third and final part of the obstacle race! The reality of this one is that it's a literal minefield!" Mic shouted. "You can tell where the mines are if you look carefully! Therefore you have to use your eyes and legs! Please note that these landmines aren't so powerful as to kill you, but they're loud and flashy enough to make you wet your pants!"
"That depends on the person." Aizawa muttered. 'A minefield?!' Izuku thought to himself, instinctively slowing down. Students began to fly upwards as one after another stepped on the mines. 'I see. They're trying to put those in the lead at a disadvantage.' Todoroki thought to himself as he slowly made his way across. Bakugou was just flying over the field, using his explosions to propel himself. "This pansy-ass trap doesn't affect me!" he snarled. He then passed Todoroki. "Don't declare war on the wrong person you bastard!" he screamed, taking the lead. "And we have a new frontrunner! Rejoice mass media! This is the kind of development that you love! And look at that! The rest of the pack is also speeding up!" Mic shouted. Sure enough, they were.
"And the top two are fighting each other while they run! But where is Midoriya!?" Izuku, meanwhile, noticed that he was falling behind. 'It's a long way up.' he thought to himself. 'Is there any way to catch up?' He suddenly had an idea! Maybe he could use the explosions? 'Ok, now I need a shock absorber' he thought. He then looked down at his hands. 'Come on, think! I have claws and a sword! I need a shield!' He forced biomass into his arms, and they began to expand. Soon, there was a thick amount of tendrils covering both of his hands! They formed the shape of a square and then they hardened. Izuku realized that he didn't feel anything there. 'Sorry Kacchan, but I'm using your idea!' he mentally growled, slamming his new shield into the ground. This set off a lot of mines. "WOAH! There's a huge explosions at the back!" Mic shouted. And Izuku shot out, riding his new shield.
"WHAT?!" Toshinori shouted. "Was that an accident, or did he do it on purpose!? And Midoriya certainly didn't have that before!" Mic shouted, pointing to the black shield. "He's using the blast!" he shouted. And then he flew over the leaders. "AND MIDORIYA IS BACK IN THE LEAD! OH MY GOD!" Mic was screaming now, and the only thing that kept him from accidentally activating his Quirk was Aizawa erasing it. "And the two formerly in the lead are now no longer fighting each other!" Mic commented. 'I'm slowing down!' Izuku thought. 'I can't let them get ahead of me!' and with that he landed on their shoulders, leapt off, and slammed the shield into another mine. The blast knocked the two off of their feet, and propelled him ahead. He rolled and was soon back on his feet. He pushed biomass into his legs and took off. "WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU TEACHING THEM ERASERHEAD!?" Mic screamed. "I'm just their homeroom teacher. I didn't teach them that." he muttered.
"And the first stage of the First Year Sports Festival is almost over! Who could've predicted the beginning or the end?! And now… the first person back is none other than… IZUKU MIDORIYA!" Mic screeched. Izuku was shocked at people cheering for him, of all people! At home, Inko was almost passed out. "I-Izu…" she mumbled, falling off the couch. At the base, All For One let loose a tight scream. "THAT'S MY BOY! THAT'S MY SON! WELL DONE!" he shouted, the sound almost breaking past the barrier he set up.
Back at the stadium, Izuku looked up to where the teachers were And there, hiding among them, was All Might in his deflated form, clapping for him as well. His tears welled up as he clenched his fist. "And now they're finishing, one after the other!" Mic shouted. "Deku! You were amazing! I really have a long way to go!" Uraraka shouted. Meanwhile Iida was in a state of shock because he'd fallen behind, even though his Quirk was built for speed! "I- I also have a long way to go." he mumbled, hiding his face.
Momo came in, her pants down, panties showing, and those were a little low as well. "N-no… this wasn't how it was supposed to go…" she whimpered. "HAHAHA! I killed two birds with one stone! You ran too fast though! I was almost able to kill three!" Mineta shouted.
Aizawa's glare aimed was towards his student, as Mic turned off the radio in shock. "D-did Mineta just say what I think he said!? A-and do you think he was implying..." Mic gasped, before trailing off. The crowd wasn't noticing. "He. Did. And. He. Was." Aizawa snarled. "Y-you do realize that he technically was in the top 42 right?" Mic asked. Aizara turned, murder in his eyes. "Very well. But if he doesn't get first place, he's being shipped off to the General Course." he growled. "Why not expulsion?" Mic asked. "You know the… ramifications that'll have." Aizawa grumbled. Mic nodded, before turning the radio on again.
"The first round of the First Year Sports Festival is over!" Midnight shouted into her microphone. "And now, the results!" She pointed to a billboard. The names flashed. Izuku thought there was a pattern somewhere. It was like when hero teams were being drawn, but he couldn't place it. "The top 42 get to advance to the next round!" Midnight announced. "If you didn't get in, don't worry! We've prepared other ways for you to shine!" she said, licking her lips. "The real challenge begins now! The press will be all over it! Give it your all!" Bakugou seethed at that. "That bitch stole my line…" he muttered to himself. No one but Izuku heard it. Midnight cracked her cat-o-nine-tails, and the roulette wheel spun. "Now, I know what the next part will be already! But what could it be? Oh what could it possibly be?" she rhetorically asked, taunting everyone. "And here it is! The second challenge is…" the roulette wheel stopped. "A cavalry battle!" Everyone started muttering.
"I'll explain. You may all split into teams of two to four people. It's basically the same as a regular batle, but with a slight difference. You see, each person is assigned a point value based on their position. The points will start with 42nd place being worth 5 points, forty-first being worth ten points, and so on! The only exception is the first place winner, who gets a total point value of… TEN MILLION POINTS!" Utter silence filled the area. "T-ten million!?" Izuku cried out. "In other words, if you take down first place team, you'll become the leader no matter your point value!" Midnight started cackling madly. "It's survival of the fittest, with the ones on the bottom get a chance to become the ones at the top!"